President John Dramani Mahama has held high-level talks with Jamaican government officials to strengthen cooperation between Ghana and Jamaica during a four-day official state visit to the Caribbean nation.
The discussions focused on trade, investment, cultural and educational exchanges, as well as wider South-South cooperation and collaboration on regional and international issues.
President Mahama arrived in Kingston on Sunday night, where he was given official honours at Norman Manley International Airport. He was welcomed by a Jamaican delegation led by Sandra Grant Griffiths, Chief of State Protocol at the Office of the Prime Minister, and Ghana’s High Commissioner to Jamaica, Kofi Attor.
Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith, and Jamaica’s Non-Resident High Commissioner to Ghana, Lincoln Downer, were also part of the welcoming delegation.
The Ghanaian president travelled with a senior delegation that included the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa; the Deputy Minister of Defence, Ernest Brogya Genfi; and Joyce Bawa Mogtari, Special Aide and Presidential Advisor to the President.
On Monday, President Mahama and his delegation were formally welcomed at King’s House on Hope Road in Kingston by Jamaica’s Governor-General, Sir Patrick Allen, and his wife, Lady Allen.
The ceremony included a Guard of Honour inspection before President Mahama met the Governor-General and Lady Allen in the Drawing Room of King’s House.
The visit, which concludes today, is intended to reinforce the long-standing diplomatic, cultural and economic links between Ghana and Jamaica, while also widening cooperation between Ghana and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
President Mahama later went to the Office of the Prime Minister, where he was received by Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Michael Holness. The two leaders held a private meeting before wider bilateral discussions between officials from both countries.
Their talks examined opportunities to expand economic partnerships, boost trade and investment, improve cultural and educational links, and coordinate on matters of shared regional and international interest.
At a joint media briefing at the Executive Building, Prime Minister Holness and President Mahama described the outcome of their talks and repeated their commitment to strengthening the historic relationship between the two countries.
President Mahama referred to the influence of Jamaican political figure Marcus Garvey on Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah. He said several initiatives introduced by Nkrumah after Ghana’s independence had been shaped by Garvey’s ideas, including the concept of the Black Star of Africa and the Black Star Shipping Line.
“They worked in solidarity in those days, including Prime Minister Michael Manley, in respect of the non-aligned movements.
Those leaders came together at a time of the Cold War to work together to protect our countries from undue influence by the various ideological blocs,” President Mahama said.
He said the historical solidarity between the two nations could now be applied to economic development.
“If this solidarity was built on liberation, we have new opportunities for building that solidarity today.
This time it is not about liberation from colonial domination.
This time it is economic emancipation of our people.
We have no option but to work together, bring our comparative advantages together to be able to create the prosperity that our people deserve,” he added.
President Mahama also pointed to the potential for investment between Ghana and Jamaica, including the prospect of companies manufacturing in one country and gaining access to markets in the other 54 countries.
“You are able to produce or manufacture in one country and export to the other 54 countries,” he said.
The president said a bilateral air services agreement between Ghana and Jamaica was before Parliament and would be fast-tracked. The agreement is intended to enable direct flights between Accra and Montego Bay.
The two governments also considered a defence cooperation agreement. It would provide for exchanges between the Ghanaian and Jamaican militaries and support a quicker joint response to disasters.
President Mahama praised Jamaica for backing Ghana’s role as the African Union’s Champion on Reparations. He said 123 countries had supported a historic General Assembly resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade and the enslavement of Africans as a grievous crime against humanity.
“We held the Next Steps Conference in Accra and had three agreements on the high-level panel, the experts panel and the legal panel.
I believe that it ties into what Jamaica is trying to do with the petition to the Royal House of England. I want to express Ghana’s support for that petition,” President Mahama said.
The final engagement of the day took place at the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston. The museum is located in the former home of the Jamaican musician and the headquarters of his record label, Tuff Gong.
It contains artefacts, personal memorabilia, writings and photographs documenting Marley’s life and work.
Reflecting on Marley’s influence, President Mahama highlighted the continuing popularity of the musician’s song about Zimbabwe’s independence and his message on liberation from mental slavery.
“His song on Zimbabwe’s independence continues to be very popular. Africans are liberating Zimbabwe.
It led not only to the liberation of Zimbabwe; after Zimbabwe, South Africa also joined and got independent.
But even his lyrics about freeing ourselves from mental slavery continue to inspire us,” President Mahama said.
